Man Fatally Hit At Crystal Lake Train Crossing

Police Investigating Accident

A 20-year-old Crystal Lake man died early Wednesday after an empty commuter train bound for Chicago apparently hit him at the Pingree Road crossing, authorities said.

Jeffrey W. Dzien, of the 4900 block of Amy Drive was found at 1:55 a.m., lying across railroad tracks about 100 feet east of the Crystal Lake crossing. The crew of a westbound train that is part of Metra's Union Pacific Northwest line discovered Dzien's body, which apparently had been hit earlier by an eastbound train that did not stop, authorities said.

Police found Dzien's car stuck in the snow about a quarter-mile south of the tracks on Pingree Road. They said Dzien might have been walking to his house less than a mile north of the accident scene.

Dzien had been visiting friends Tuesday night, said his father, Wayne.

"He was one of the nicest sons a parent could want. He thought the world of his friends and maintained high visibility with them during the holiday season," Wayne Dzien said. "You never think this would happen to your indestructible son who you reared to be responsible, and then the unlikely occurs."

An autopsy showed that Dzien died of multiple trauma, McHenry County Coroner Marlene Lantz said.

Warning lights and gates at the Pingree Road crossing worked properly for the train that found Dzien's body, leading police to believe that they also had worked for the train that apparently hit Dzien, authorities said.

But there are no witnesses, so police said they do not know for sure if Dzien was warned that the train was approaching. They also are unsure if Dzien might have fallen on the tracks and been unable to move before the accident, police said.

Police do not know when Dzien was hit, but John Bromley, spokesman for Union Pacific, said an empty commuter train that left Crystal Lake between 1 and 1:30 a.m. had been the last to pass along the tracks.

That eight-car train, which runs express to Chicago, had no passengers because it is moved early each morning to the city for use later that day. The train had been traveling at 55 m.p.h., authorities said.

The crew that found Dzien was aboard a train scheduled to arrive at the Crystal Lake station at 1:53 a.m. Crew members called Union Pacific dispatchers, and police were called to the scene at 1:55 a.m.

Crew members of the earlier train said they recalled hearing a thump at the Pingree Road intersection, but they thought they hit ice and did not stop, Bromley said.

"They hit ice and debris all the time," he said.

Dzien briefly attended McHenry County College after graduating in 1998 from Marian Catholic High School in Woodstock. His parents, Wayne and Marsha, adopted him when he was 2 weeks old.

"He was so special," Dzien's father said. "He would give the shirt off his back to people and was very loyal to his friends."

Dzien, who would have turned 21 next month, worked as a repair technician at Heartland Communications in Crystal Lake. He began working for the company, which sells electronic pagers and operates a paging service, in February, said Brian Priesz, operations manager and Dzien's supervisor.

"I wish every employee was like him. He was as close to a perfect employee as you could possibly get," Priesz said. "He was constantly upbeat and never had a bad mood as far as I could see."